The United States
has delivered 100 Hellfire missiles, along with assault rifles and ammunition,
to Iraq as part of its anti-terrorism assistance to the country, the
US embassy to Iraq has said.

AGM-114 (Photo credit :)

In a statement issued
on Sunday, it said the delivery was made earlier this month in order
to help bolster Iraqi forces fighting a breakaway al-Qaeda group known
as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

"It is essential
that Iraqi Security Forces are equipped with modern and effective weaponry
given the serious threat ... the ISIL now poses to Iraq and the region,"
said the statement, which also promised to send more weapons to Iraq
in the coming weeks.

It added that since
the middle of January, Iraqi security forces had received more than
eleven million rounds of ammunition, as well as thousands of machine
guns, sniper rifles, assault rifles and grenades.